Almost cheaper to go to Aulani or DL. Anyone done it or thought about it?

[Zombie]

Thanks so much for all the advice. It's been really helpful.

 

[LemonNeko]

I've been to Hawaii once and it's definitely amazing. I stayed one week on Maui and another on Molokai. Taking the commuter plane over to Molokai was one of the best parts of my trip. On both islands we had a kitchen so did our own cooking. Maui has a Costco but it was more expensive buying groceries on Molokai.

 

[wendyt_ca]

With flights it is definitely still cheaper to fly to WDW vs Hawaii. The flights alone are quite pricey. I am going to DL in Oct and went to DL last April, however that wasn't really because of flights. Last year we were able to use our DVC for our room at DL, this year I have to stay offsite but am splitting with a friend.

We are planning on doing Aulani next year. Only because we both have enough Aeroplan miles built up to cover our roundtrip flights and our DVC to cover the room. Otherwise it would be too expensive.

I have been researching Hawaii a lot though and discovered renting a car will save us a lot of money and most things we want to do can be done for free. We are going to rent a car from the airport (which I have priced at about $170 cdn for a week). It is a better option since the shuttle is $40 roundtrip each. We are DVC members so parking will be free. And instead of booking tours to go see things we can just drive there. We can also eat off the resort if we want something cheaper.

We plan to do the Ranch tour (because of Jurassic park) which is one of the only things that will cost us anything. Pearl Harbor is free to see unless you want the museum. I have a friend who has been who also highly recommended we go to Diamond Head, Manoa Falls, Turtle Beach(Laniakea Beach) all of which are free to visit. So I was shocked at how cheap Hawaii can be done for once you get past the airfare and hotel costs.

Also apparently at McDonalds there it won't show the value menu but you can order from it and it is the same price. Plus they automatically include pineapples (which you are charged for) and you can request to not get them. If you are looking for a cheap option for food that was one thing we learned while researching.

 

[starvenger]

Turtle Beach is opposite end from Aulani so it's about as long a drive as you can get on the island. The restaurant at the resort there is supposed to be good, but we never managed to get to that beach when we were in Oahu - it rained the day we were going to go and it was our last day in Oahu.

Dole Plantation is also a nice stop if you're looking for something else to do. It's free to enter, although some things (like the maze) cost a bit. And you can compare their Dole Whip with that of WDW

Speaking of food, I'm kind of amazed that something I take for granted in the GTA - cheap pho - is actually kind of pricey in Hawaii. $10+ (US) for a bowl!

And it's probably an obvious thing, but grab as many of the tourist books as you can when you arrive - I don't know that the literature is truly helpful, but there are coupons aplenty in there, and it can help save money.

 

[tmh43]

Is highway driving in the area easy if you wanted to do a few days in LA or San Diego before or after Disney? I've heard awful things about driving in LA. Is San Diego any easier

Driving in LA is not a big deal IMO. It's busy, and the 6 lanes of traffic in each direction can be extremely intimidating, but it's all highway driving and pretty straight forward. Nothing like driving in cities like Toronto or Boston. The biggest thing I think people have a problem with is the u-turns- no other cities seem to embrace them like LA. But there are lanes dedicated for u-turns so it's really easy. As long as you're prepared to have to force yourself in when there's heavy traffic, you'll be fine.

Also, we actually wanted to do DL over WDW. It's a totally different atmosphere. But I think 4 days would be the most you would need. Huntington Beach is pretty close if you're looking for a beach, and you must go to Ruby's if you go.

 

[alohamom]

Driving in LA is not a big deal IMO. It's busy, and the 6 lanes of traffic in each direction can be extremely intimidating, but it's all highway driving and pretty straight forward. Nothing like driving in cities like Toronto or Boston. The biggest thing I think people have a problem with is the u-turns- no other cities seem to embrace them like LA. But there are lanes dedicated for u-turns so it's really easy. As long as you're prepared to have to force yourself in when there's heavy traffic, you'll be fine.

The one thing that truly freaked me out was the way motorcycles are permitted to come between the lanes on the freeways in California. I wasnt expecting it and it seems on the dangerous side from a passing perspective but other wise, I agree, it is not difficult just congested.